I just wanted to ask if anyone had any views on the Aldi area manager scheme, and whether it would be well received by MCs if worked on the escheme for a few yars and then tried to transfer to consulting?Any views much appreciated.

do not go to Aldi........... I am sure other posters will advise. I started in retail, thinking it would give me a good grounding with a view either to climbing the retail hierarchy or making a similar move to the one you would be looking for in the future. Your only chance to move to management consulting would be to do a very high end MBA - you might have a chance then. That scheme is a nightmare. Basically you are responsible for running a number of stores. You are told how man hours you have to staff the store. It is nowhere near the number you need. You consequently end up sitting on a till for most of the week and doing all your financial reports on a Sunday. At the end of it, you are exhausted and unemployable because the skills you have learned are only applicable at store level in another retailer.... Please tell your friends so that they save themselves. Companies take advantage of the youthful enthusiasm of bright young graduates. Take advice from older wiser people in the same or other sectors.

A few words of wisdom from the, well, me...When the size of the task is greater than the intellectual challenge it is time to move on.I worked in industry prior to joining consulting and whilst big jobs (I had 500 staff at one point) are attractive as the money is usually ok this is short lived. Being busy doing brain dead work is no fun at all.

Very good words from bingo... more posts like this pls!!!

Hi,I am a grad just about to start out in my first role in the consulting world. I see myself ideally moving into industry at some point in the future as I can't see myself leading the 'consulting lifestyle' for too long. It appears that some grads make the mistake of being too generalist in their approach at the beginning of their careers , and as a result find it difficult to become employable within an industry setting after a few years as they have nothing much to leverage. Is this true?I guess on the flip side if you specialise too early, if things turn sour in that industry, you are pretty shafted.I was wondering what people's experiences have been making the transition from one to the other. I am not so interested in the ‘pay and hours’ debate which has been discussed endlessly on this form, but more your insights as to what with hindsight you may have done differently in terms for example specialising at an early stage etc.. What paths your peer group who started with you took and you wish you had taken a similar one. What industry routes do you feel offer the best opportunities at the moment? Oil and gas? telecoms? I guess there is an element of looking into the crystal ball on this on also to predict where growth industries will occur.Your insights would be much appreciated

Hi,I am a grad just about to start out in my first role in the consulting world. I see myself ideally moving into industry at some point in the future as I can't see myself leading the 'consulting lifestyle' for too long. It appears that some grads make the mistake of being too generalist in their approach at the beginning of their careers , and as a result find it difficult to become employable within an industry setting after a few years as they have nothing much to leverage. Is this true?I guess on the flip side if you specialise too early, if things turn sour in that industry, you are pretty shafted.I was wondering what people's experiences have been making the transition from one to the other. I am not so interested in the ‘pay and hours’ debate which has been discussed endlessly on this form, but more your insights as to what with hindsight you may have done differently in terms for example specialising at an early stage etc.. What paths your peer group who started with you took and you wish you had taken a similar one. What industry routes do you feel offer the best opportunities at the moment? Oil and gas? telecoms? I guess there is an element of looking into the crystal ball on this on also to predict where growth industries will occur.Your insights would be much appreciated

ex confused grad has hit the nail on the head. I don't know about Aldi but I know of others whio have been on such grad schemes and for a free Audi I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. As from moving from something like that to consulting I think it would be tough. Naturally you are going to pretty marginalised to retail and even then your area of experience might be considered a bit too narrow or specialist. Go for an MC role now!

Excellent...."When the size of the task is greater than the intellectual challenge it is time to move on. "Woud remember this one. If one sentence could capture that feeling one experiences when it might be time to seek other pastures - THIS IS IT.

Thanks for the praise ladies and gents, those words just fell out of my mouth when I was handing in my notice to my old CEO in industry before moving to consulting - the move seemed to make more sense to both of us from that point.